


It Was Just A Thought

by Cerillen



Series: It's Not Okay, But It Can Be [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: It's late and I'm bad at tags, There's not enough fics with Steven as a fusion so I'm making my own, fight me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:54:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23423515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerillen/pseuds/Cerillen
Summary: Steven takes a moment to think about being split apart.And what exactly it means in the first place.
Relationships: Pink Steven Universe & Steven Universe
Series: It's Not Okay, But It Can Be [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1684960
Comments: 17
Kudos: 141





	1. Chapter 1

He’d never really thought about it.

There had never been a reason to talk about it with anyone.

And, even when small bits of evidence presented themselves, nobody had ever implied that it wasn’t normal.

Even when he learned more about fusion and what it was and what it felt like.

It really hadn’t occurred to him to question it.

It was just…

…how things worked.

It was normal.

To him, at least.

The two voices in his head had always been there.

Two, distinct and separate, voices.

Each slightly different from his own, but close enough that arguments could sometimes be confusing.

They blended together, most of the time.

Sounding like a singular thought, doubled back and with little bits of additional commentary.

_(‘Should I grab some food before I get back home?’_

**_‘We should get fry bits.’_ **

_ ‘Yes! Fry bits sound so good right now!’ _

**_ ‘Let’s get The Bits!’ _ ** _)_

Other times, they’d argue so much that it felt like his brain was going to split in two.

_( ‘Why isn’t it working?! Why aren’t we healing her?!’_

**_‘I can’t.’_ **

_ ‘Why not?!’ _

**_‘I just-‘_ **

_ ‘We have Mom’s gem so why-‘ _

**_‘WE ARE NOT HER.’_ **

_ ‘But we have her gem! We should be able to do this!’ _

**_‘…we might not have all of her abilities.’_ **

_ ‘BUT WE NEED THIS ONE!’ _

**_‘I KNOW.’_ ** _)_

It was useful, in some moments, and completely infuriating, in others.

But it was just how his mind worked from the beginning, so he’d never thought to question it.

Not until he’d stopped existing.

And those two voices were left in his place.

One: terrified, confused, frantic, **_DYING_**.

_( ‘IT HURTS IT HURTS I’M DYING WHERE IS HE WHERE IS HE IT HURTS I NEED HIM-‘)_

The other: worried, confused, uncomfortable, **_ANGRY_**.

_( **‘SHE HU̸R̷T̸ ̵H̷I̵M̴ S̶̡̤̓͊H̷͓̞̉È̵̳̖ ̵̗͕̏H̸͓̺̀̚Ụ̶̫̈́̃R̸̬̘͍̿̊͂T̸̛̖̀̾ ̸̲̤͕͌H̵̤̦̰̅̕I̷̯̐̀͜M̷̻̩̎̑͘ S̸̗̑̃̓H̷͇̰̐Ẻ̸̞̖͕ ̸̹̋̒̓͜H̴̩͌̋U̴̲͈̭͛̌̓R̸̛̲̦̄̿́̊T̷̲̓̇́̚ ̸͓̉H̴̢̰̹̜̍̓̄̽̈́ͅI̴̯̖͉̪͉̒̇̈́͂͘M̴̦͇͇̯̙̹̟̾͐͊̀͗͝ ̸̡̢̝͈̱̝͔͇̂͛̀̍͐͑̎͝Ş̸̢̯̯̞̘̲̓H̷̢̫̳̪̳͌͂̀Ȩ̷͚͂̈͘-‘**_ )

And then he’d been back and all he could feel was love.

_( **‘I’m here.’**_

**_ ‘I’m here.’ _ **

**_ ‘I’m here.’ _ **

**_ ‘I’m here.’ _ ** _)_

And then White Diamond had finally listened to him and everyone was brought back to their senses and then they’d finally gone home and the only ones who even fully witnessed the forced separation had been Connie and White in the first place and White was on Homeworld and Connie was back home so nobody was around to question him about.

So he’d just…

Ignored it.

For a little bit.

A couple of weeks, actually.

During which, he’d seen both White and Connie.

But neither of them had spoken about it.

He has a feeling that they don’t **want** to talk about it.

He can’t really blame them.

It was pretty traumatic on Connie’s part and embarrassing on White’s.

So he’s kept his mouth shut and tried not to think about it.

But the voices were still there.

And the part of himself that he recognizes as being slightly separate from the voices, the part that disappeared when White had forcefully pulled him apart, is starting to feel pretty guilty about it.

He can literally feel the discontent radiating from the two other parts of his brain.

Even in silence, he can hear their worries.

_( ‘Does he hate us?’_

**_‘Is he scared?’_ **

**_ ‘How do we fix this?’ _ ** _)_

And it’s really starting to make his head hurt from how conflicted he’s feeling.

But it’s a different sort of hurt than the splitting feeling he’s more used to and that’s only leaving him with more questions that he’d never even realized needed to be answered in the first place.

It’s…

**_‘Annoying?’_ **

_ ‘Scary?’ _

_‘Weird.’_

**_ ‘…’ _ **

It’s weird.

And annoying.

And, yeah, a bit scary.

I mean, let’s be real here, how many people spend their entire lives thinking with three voices only for two of the voices to separate into two different individuals before coming back together to create a single one again?

How many people have suddenly discovered that they might actually have been a fusion since birth and hadn’t even thought to question it beforehand?

**_‘None.’_ **

_ ‘Stop it.’ _

**_‘It’s true.’_ **

_ ‘We don’t know that.’ _

**_‘But-‘_ **

And now the splitting feeling was starting to appear and he actually had no idea if it meant what he thought it meant and if it actually **did** mean what he thought it meant was he going to be okay?!

What if they actually split apart again?!

Steven could feel his previously calm and speculative thoughts starting to spiral into panic.

His breathing started to stutter, his heart picked up speed, his body tensed like it was preparing for a fight.

And suddenly there was only screaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fusion makes me happy overall because I've always had multiple voices talking back to each other in my head, so it pleases me to think about there being a fusion-esque thought space where the voices get to chat and think about things collectively.  
> It makes me feel a little bit better and more centered overall.  
> Much like Steven in this fic, I only ever realized the voices were not exactly normal for everyone later on in life when I mentioned it to my parents and my dad started scolding me for "allowing myself to think like that".  
> Steven Universe and it's concept of fusion makes it feel less weird and more normal.  
> Writing this also makes me feel a little like I'm venting while also allowing me to write about my own little headcanons and AU for the series.  
> So, judge this all if you want, don't if you don't.  
> I'm doing this for myself, but I'll be happy if someone else also enjoys it.


	2. Chapter 2

_ ‘SHE’S KILLING US SHE’S KILLING US WE NEED TO RUN HIDE RUN GET AWAY GO-‘ _

_'WHERE IS SHE?! WHAT’S HAPPENING?! IT HURTS HURTSHURTSHURTS-‘_

**_‘.̴̩͈͉̈̉̔̇̍̔̄̎͛̌̕,̶̛͔̖̔̓̊̅̍̑̚͝͝;̶̻̣̟̗̝̜̮̼̎̋̂̅̇̓̈́͋͆̄͊̾̅̊̓͂̊̈́̚'̸̹̺͕̖̫͐̎̉̆̄̏͊̒̑̂ͅ/̵̨̘̠̭̙̩̦̏̐̔̈́̓̐̉̀͗̚̕͠,̶̨̡̛͉̹͇̥͍̣̎̈́̓͐̈́̒̿͊͌͝.̸̨̢̛͙̰͖̹͖͈̺̜̏̆͒͆̕͝[̸̻̮͚̭͓̠͈̰͔̫͗̆̆́̌̾̓̌̀́̒̔̚͠͝]̵̛̺̗̤̋̀̍̋̅́͌̓̎̅́̒͗̋̑̎̂͝,̴̳̻͎̣͔̟̰͗̑̑͂̈̂͐͗͒̍̍̔̆͗̿̾͘ͅ=̵̡͓̭̺͉̺̟̙̝̫̱̭̟̙̫͎͊.̶̼̦̥̳̈̈́̏̂̽͐̒̀̔̆͂̌̀͠͝-̵̝̜̹͓̣̫̪̭̱͕̣̗̞̥̜̖̭̳̾͗̍̚͜-̷̨̧̻̥̬͚̙͓̳̩̘̺̖̥̻̰͖̎͛ͅ=̵̧̡̼̠̟̫͍̮̗͕̦̘̖̺̹̤͛̈̅ͅͅ-̸̨͈͙̤̹͚͉̳̪͖̐̈́̽́̊̿͆͘`̶̧̼̠̯̜̩̖̯͎̖̘̭̹͕̺̖̙̣̽̌͗́̃̌̑͌͆͜͝`̷̨̛̝͖͔̤̺̲͎̠̩̝̹̫̇̈́̈́̿͋͗͒̈́̽̉̀̄̔̇̕̚͜[̶̡̣̫̻̫͍̞̰͕̉̄͂͒̄͊͝'̷̠̭̝̭̍̔̉̈́̉̏,̶̡̯̤̐̋͐͑͊̄̾̾̓̍̉̓̓̌;̴̡͚̯͕͎͖̬̇̑͜͜.̸͔̻̱̜̩̗͍͖̉͛͐͊̆͗́̒͋͌̓̚͠ͅ/̷̢̢͙͎̭̹͆̃͐̈́͘͝,̵̢̧̞̮͈̪̟͎̟̩͎͎͙̭̤̹͎̖͒̌̈̄͋̋͑̌̄̔̿̔͌͐̿͜͝?̴̭̺̟̜̳̙̩̱͙̯͔̤̩̖̔̇̃͐̿̿̈́̈́̉͂͘͝ ≮̡̨̻̰͓͖̮͈͖̺̠̪̣͚̳͂̓͆̅͐̾̓̍͝͝>̶̡̧̠̗̲̮͚̬̙̬̘̫̬̞̂̿͛̅̃́͋̾̏̕͘͠<̴̢̧̛̲̭̞̲̗̝͙̹̰͖̫̥̹̖̤͋̐̄̀̈́͜͜͠:̶̹̏̊̈́̎͐̿̒̎̓͗̕̚≮̧̠͎̖̠̐̍̇͑͌̇ͅ"̵͔̖̼͕̈̿̿̕͝{̵̢̨͎̣͓̙̼͔͕̳̬͖̲̗͇̫͔̔̓̆̕͜͜>̶̨̠̦͎͍̫̻͖͖͇͍̼̤͍̽̂̏̓́̒͒̽̈̓̎̕̚͜͝͝ͅ}̸̧̛͇̠͚̖̖͗̓̂̓͋̏̏͌̎̇+̵̘͈̞̙̳̳̺̑͛͑̋͑̌̒̾̉͊̕ͅ_̶̨̨̜̗̜͓͕͇̻̦̖̖͔̗̺͕̀̀̎͆̑̆̕͝͝͠~̸̢̝̼̦̬͓͔̬̲̤̖͓̤͕͎̰̣̘̲̈̎̃̉̊!̷̡̢̢̮̼̳̞̣̝̮̘͍̘̖̦̫̹͓̀̔͐̒̎̔̿̉̇̓͗̇̏̈͘͘͘̕ͅ#̸̡̭̝̦̲̠͔̻̱͔̈͑̿̈̒̉̒̽̈̇̽̀̕͜͠͝^̴̡̺͔̫̪̱͇̝̯̟̅͛̏̉͑̎̂̉͝ͅ*̴̧̧̛̛̮̳̓̌̒̐̎́͆̿́̀͊͆͘(̶̢̻͍̰̱̼̳̘̭̠̦̤̣͔̗͇͎̹̫̍͑̑̌̉̾͗̀̐̌̚͠_̴̰̭͉̹̮̞̦͇̙̱̱̦͓́̑̃̆̐̂͝+̴̨̧̧̛̩̫̪̺̟̹̘̥̳̣̠̠͖̠̘̙͗̓̆̔͑̔͗̑́̅̉̕͘͘̕͝>̶̧̨̮͎͔̹̳͕͍̤̓̃̐̍͌͑̓̏̏̉̾̋̐̏̈́̕͘<̷̢̯̲̼̣̻͕̰̥͖̜̳̰̈:̷̢̖̳͉̼̗͇͉̎͊͋̅̈̈́̾̾̈́̃̈̆̓́͊͘͠͝?̵̝̺̼̥͓̺̟̙͎͖̔̔͐́̓̒ͅ"̴̨̯̝͈̩͇͓̣̞͓͇̯̹̌{̸̢̀̐͠}̷̨͎̣̫̳̻̯̙̼̤̝̬͔͈̮̪̬̖̯̓̔̾̏̀̏̉̉̅̾̉̋̿͋́!̵̨̨̮̘̬͓̺̯̦̜͚͓̱̰̘͆̌̐̐͌̀̎̋̆̐͊͗̃̚̕͜͝~̴͉̯̥̯̮̼̪̦̩͑͊͒͒̈́͌͊̕͠ͅ_̴̛̩̫̠̰͈̣͍͔̲̖͉͖̯̹͚͓̰̍̽̔̈́́͋̚͜͝͠͠+̶̢̛̜͍̺͍̬̘̦̠͍͓̗̘̅̇͆͛̊̾̿̐̃ͅ>̷̧̛̟̫̜̰̺̹̣̤̳̥̘̐̈́’_ **

**_'W̵̳͙͝h̶̨̤̦̑̇i̶̖̇t̶͓̔͝é̸̛͈̈́B̶̜͂̓̍l̸̯͍̯̐͊̇a̸̢̠̅̈́̋ċ̵͇͍k̴̛̻͂͘W̷̭̭͒h̸͔̿i̷̺̻͘͘ṭ̵̃̀͊e̸̥̪̎͊ͅB̴͉͆̈͐ͅl̴̺̞̑ä̶̢̠͉̉̔c̵̨̈͒k̷̺͙̤̔͒Ŗ̶̨̡̛͈̙͑̿̂́̋̋͐͆͂͂͛̈́͐͂̒͛̕Ȩ̷̛͉̗̺̳̤̻͉̣̘͛͑̊͗̍̒̂̒̋͘͘̕͝͝͝͝D̶̡̨̢̡̲̲͈͕̖̻̜͓̳̮͙̲̪͕̪̟̈́̍̂̊͑̊̐͗̑́̕ͅB̸̮͈͛̈́̚l̸̡̖̖̱͍̙͖̕a̷͖͑̕c̷̢̢̫̫̟͓̪̊k̷̫̭͗Ẅ̵̡̡̱̝̣͎h̶͂̈́̄̐̚͜i̶̱̻̓͊̓̽ṫ̸͍̹̾̓e̸̥͇̜̤̪̔Ẅ̸͕̱̺̘̲́͜h̴̢͙̳̠͎̘̱͂̏ḭ̸̬̞͍̣̓̎ẗ̵̥̟́̓͗̊ê̴̪̺̤̥̣̫̩͔͓͒W̸͉͚͇̑̐͑̄̈̂̔̈̆͗͋̐̇̚̕͝H̷̺͈͉̜̣͇̠̜͎̯̙͌͌̓̈́̿̉̌̈́͊̀̀̓̐̎̄̂͜͜͝Ĭ̸̛̝̭̮͊̓̚T̶̡̠̫̖̥͈̥͖̰͙̦̙̼͋̾̇̈́͌̊̀̍́͋͐̕͜͝E̵̢̠̯̯͖̫͚͚͂͆͊̇͗̀̃͑̄̐̇́̽͗̄͘͜W̷̨̢̙͎͉͓̘͕̥̖̬͕̬̳̹͔̼̜͇͓̪̰̹̦̘̙̐̂̏̂̎̂͒̏̏̒̉͝ͅḨ̴̛̲̳̎̅̈́̌̈̽̄̌̔͝I̴̡̢̛̲̝͔̯͕̩͕̝͎̘͗̉̆̒̒̇͂̎͐̎̓̓̄̈́̒͑̂̉̄̈͗̚ͅŢ̶̨̢̙̲̙̗͓͇̼͚̬̪͔̞͎̳͛̏͌͜EẂ̸̨̢̡̛̛̮̹̺̬͇͚̳̱̘̙̯͉̺͇̬̩̩̮̌͛͆̈̊̓̀̾̆̋͑̂̈́͆̄̋͂̈͗̕͘̚̚̚̚̕͝͠͝ͅͅH̶̢̡̛͍͔̘̹̩͚̗̖̗̖͔̪͎̺̪̣̫̹͖̔̽̓͌̄̑̌̿̏̈͒̈́̿ͅI̴̛̜̱͚͈͉̟̲̔̽Ṱ̸̨̡̢͙̬̯͚̩͚̰̹̩̰̫̱͙̜̯͎͉̥̟̫̳̥̈́͋͒̉́͆̐̄͋̏̀̾̚͜E̶̢̼͈̬̤̰̥̩̱̠̺͇̠̦̳̹̲͗͋̃̍͜͜͜͠ ̷̧̛͖̤̱͙̼̙̤͔̮̓́͘͝ Pink’ _ **

**_‘S̷̨̧̢͓̩̬̺̰̦͔̪͕̝̭̳̟̝͕̯͇̼̱̖̙͔̥̈́̎̇̾̈̾̌͊̎͂̂̃̎͋̈̏̓̃͒̋̿̈͒̈̆́̚͜͠ͅT̴̢̡̧̨̡̠͎͕̘̖̖̤͈̹͕̖͚͙̫̙̞̻̞̼͕̟͎̗̭̤͚̱̥͓͐̇͋͒̂̚Ơ̶̲̰̟͓͇̩͓͌͒̒̏͋̊̐͌̊̆̋̀̾͆̀͜͠͠͝͝͝P̵̧̡̧̨̛̲̮̱̯̟̱̞͕͍̼̗̬̄̓̌̃̉͋̂̐̏̋̓̈́́̽̆͊̒̚͜͝’_ **

Steven gasped.

**_'C̵̮̗͊͆ą̵̢̰̤̞͚͋̉̎̇ļ̴̭̟͔̩̀̄͐̏́̇m̴̪̗̘̗͔͒̋̍̐͌͋ ̶̼̙̾̑D̸͔̹͙̭̱̉̇̊̇̈̂o̴̗̲̺̗̥͆͐͊́̕ẘ̶̛͈̝̖̓͝n̵̨̠͎̠͇͈̊͛.’_ **

_‘BUT-‘ _

**_‘C̶̨̘̗̞͕͑̌͆̀̐͂̊͗́̍̍̌͝͠Ą̶̥͇͕͓̦͙̱̭͎̠̱̙͍͖̟̇͑͊̉̓͜ͅL̸̢̢̟͔̩͈̜͉̞̳̝̟̠͚̙̜͈̩̈́̀͗͆͐̎̾̄̃̆͌͗́͒̿͌̽̀̆͠͠Ḿ̷̢̛͖̟̹͈̳̩̈́̇̏̔̎̊͗̃̑͊̆͑́̈̐̽͐̌̏͠ ̶̨̡̧̬̘̹͖̜̮̯̺̠̖̻͍̝̙̜̹͈͕͇̲̂̒̆̐̾̊͆͋̿̌͝ͅD̴̡̨̨̫̖̘̻͚̦͖͓̭͓͔̣̘͔̜̞̪̩̹̓̊̆͘ͅͅO̶̢̨̢̞͍̤̦̠̬͔͚̖̻̱͈̙͌̋̓͘͝ͅW̸͔̗̬̦͒͋̒̈́̏͆̓̑͑̍̀̂͂̍͊̆̅̎͊̈͘ͅŅ̸̧̮̮͕̟̤̻̠̤̌̒̉͊̆̏̌̋̎͛̒͒͑̐́̂̿͊̋̽̃͝͠ͅ.’_ **

He sobbed.

And his thoughts slowly started to calm again.

It was like wading through sludge.

Feeling his mind coming back to itself from…

…wherever it **had** been before.

**_ ‘W̵̲̆H̷̹̒I̶̕͜T̴̼̏E̵͚̐.’ _ **

He shuddered.

**_‘C̷a̷l̵m̴ ̴D̵o̴w̴n̶.’_ **

Breathing became easier, his heart began to slow, and his body started to relax again.

After what felt like an eternity, but what could very well have been only seconds for all he knew, the screaming and static in his mind became silence once again.

Still discontent, but blissfully quiet.

_ ‘I’m sorry.’ _

His hand twitched.

And he sighed.

_‘So am I.’_

The Second voice remained silent, but he could feel it’s similar apology, nonetheless.

Steven took a deep breath and let out an even heavier sigh before flopping back to lay fully on his bed.

He looked tiredly up at the ceiling and the sunlight filling his room suddenly flashed bright white.

Static pulsed along with it and he felt the voices in his mind tense up.

Then he closed his eyes, covered his face with his hands, and just breathed.

They relaxed along with him and, when he finally opened his eyes again, his room looked as normal as always.

Or, at least, the new kind of normal after Bismuth had to rebuild it.

He closed his eyes again and breathed away the tightness he could feel building up in his chest.

**_ ‘Don’t think about it.’ _ **

Once he felt fully calm, he opened his eyes and sat up.

He took a moment to stare at nothing while the last dregs of sludge seemed to drain out of his ears.

Then he took a deep breath, let it out slow, and positioned himself properly on his bed.

Legs folded, back straight, hands stacked, and thumbs pressed together.

_‘We need to talk about this.’_

He could feel the uncertainty from the voices.

They were scared.

He could relate.

_‘It’s okay. I just…’_

Another breath.

_‘I just want to understand.’_

That seemed to calm them.

He wasn’t surprised.

He knew they wanted to understand and figure this out just as much as he did.

They were still the same person, after all.

No matter how different from each other they **could** be.

They were all still Steven.

So he took one last calming breath.

Closed his eyes.

And let himself fade away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was much shorter than I expected.  
> It was supposed to also include the trip to Steven's little fusion headspace, but I felt like it made more sense to just leave it with the panic attack and do the proper meditation and conversation and stuff in the next chapter.  
> Also, side note, positioning stuff with that glitch text was kind of annoying but I think(?) it looks alright.  
> Not entirely sure how I feel about it, but I'm gonna leave it be, regardless.


	3. Chapter 3

The fusion space was different without Connie or Garnet there with him.

The calm blues that had once surrounded him were replaced by a mixture of pinks, ranging from soft cotton candy to hot neon.

The ground was softer, somehow, like sand without the grains, causing him to sink into it just a bit.

Yellows and golds and even some oranges rippled through the air around him like an aurora.

And butterflies fluttered all throughout it.

A couple even approached him as soon as he entered.

He flinched away from them on instinct, almost pulling out of the space entirely in his quiet fear.

“Steven?”

More pink filled his vision as an almost see-through hand started swatting at the butterflies and sending them away.

His pink double took a few steps away from him as he continued shooing away the pestering thoughts.

A warm hand fell hesitantly onto his shoulder, and he looked up to see an exact copy of himself standing beside him.

He looked nervous, and just a little worried as well.

“Are you okay? Those butterflies can be pretty…” A wall of pink suddenly came up around them in the shape of a bubble, the pinkest Steven letting out a huff as he turned away from the oncoming hoard of butterflies outside of it. “…scary.”

Steven laughed, just a little, catching the attention of both his doubles in the process.

“Yeah. They’re…kind of the worst.”

Both his doubles smiled then, though his pink double’s was less of a visible smile and more of a slight relaxing of his face.

They stared at him for a moment, and he allowed himself to simply stare back.

There weren’t that many differences between them.

The most noticeable, of course, was that one of them was pinker than the rest.

But Steven also noticed that his less pink doppelganger was just slightly different as well.

Darker eyes, thicker hair, chubbier cheeks, and thinner arms.

They were small differences.

But they were still differences.

And that was…

“Amazing.”

Pink Steven’s voice was quiet, but it seemed to break the silence they’d fallen into like a canon shot.

Steven laughed again, just a little bit louder and with a bit more feeling this time, and his almost identical double giggled as well.

His pink double didn’t laugh with them, but his face remained relaxed as he came a bit closer and sat down in front of Steven.

A single pink hand reached out to the one still standing.

The hand was accepted with a very soft smile that left Steven feeling just a little bit more relaxed as both of his halves settled themselves on the ground in front of him.

“So. There’s three of us, huh?”

Steven’s double said with a slightly nervous grin.

Pink Steven looked over at him with a blank face as Steven nodded.

“Yeah. This is pretty…”

**_ “Weird.” _ **

Everyone seemed surprised when they all spoke at once.

Their voices layering in harmony, the way it did when they shared a thought.

After the shock of the moment wore off, pinker Steven squinted in what seemed to be irritation, and double Steven smiled a little awkwardly at Steven himself.

“Whoops.”

His two halves looked so genuinely embarrassed by this small moment of them matching up with each other.

Even though they were still both Steven so that sort of thing **should** have been normal for them.

It was so strange.

This entire situation was strange.

Steven was strange.

But that was something he knew already.

So…

Steven laughed.

And he felt…

Better.

More centered.

Just a little bit lighter.

His doubles seemed to relax too.

His more human double smiling more genuinely, his pink double’s face softening.

And the butterflies that had been swarming their little bubble seemed to calm, some even flying away to wander around the rest of the space nearby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a while to finish this.  
> I've been a bit busy with some things lately. And actually finishing this chapter was kind of annoyingly difficult for me to do for a while.  
> I was actually gonna have this one be a lot longer. Like, this was supposed to be the last chapter. But I felt like it was better for this to be its own separate bit from the ending and stuff. Plus, I preferred this moment at the end to be a small cut-off point, rather than trying to directly move on from it without any sort of break.  
> Also, admittedly, I've gotten distracted lately by some other story idea stuff. So there was that.


End file.
